7/26/07 Brewers (Bush) @ Reds (Livingston) 11:35 AM CDT

[Bruce Ciskie]

Does the average human work out 29 days in a row?

 

No?

 

Getting guys a day or two off once in a while is NOT a bad thing.

[bsglorydays]

If Fielder is indeed an MVP, he should play every day. Period. Stop babying

 

You can generally count on one hand the number of players that play 162 games in any given season (okay, 2 hands max). This is smart managing IMO. Everybody on the roster will have had a day off leading up to the 4 games in 3 days series with the Cardinals.

 

Even the best players in the league should, and generally do, get 4 or 5 days off in a season. It is impossible for you or I to know who "needs" a day off and who doesn't.

 

I don't like multiple regulars sitting on the same day unless absolutely necessary for injury reasons, but I'm realistic enough to know that Prince can get a day off here or there and the Brewers will be okay.

[Brian the Automator]

[ He didn't look sore on that triple the other night. ]

 

He also didn't run with his arms.

 

Who knows which part could be sore?... who knows how sore it was last night before the triple? after the triple?

 

Guilty until proven innocent, I say.

[JohnBriggs12]

Why is the Cardinal series any more important than the Red series?

 

To me it's more important start getting road wins now and building up momentum on the road. Right now, they have zero momentum.

 

Rest Fielder when some other guys are picking up the slack. Right now I can't find any.

[GormanHarvey]

Exactly Brian. If the Brewers were winning right now we wouldn't even be talking about this.

[jason21nl]

I would say the same thing, but I think it's just something non-athletes say, and you'd realize it's not actually true

 

in the summer I play softball sun, 2x on tues, wed, and thurs, on the days that I don't play softball I play baseball 2 or 3 times a week. After sundays softball or baseball game I play tennis for 2-3 hrs a night. This starts in april and goes til the end of fall. I would easily be happy to be able to play sports for a living.

 

now softball isn't the same as a baseball game, but I would be willing to bet I run just as much if not more than anyone on the infield does in a baseball game.

[JohnBriggs12]

"If they were winning this wouldn't be an issue"

 

Absolutely. But they are not winning at least on the road are they? And specifically, they are not scoring runs. So it is an issue when the top run producers on the team sit on back to back games.

 

As for it being too taxing on them to play everyday. Mentally it's tough to compete at the highest level of a sport and a break now and then helps them out some I suppose. Physically though, these guys are highly trained and handsomely rewarded superior athletes in their twenties. That shouldn't be an issue if they take care of themselves off the field.

[sgtcluels]

Wow.. so losing Inman really made people grumpy.

 

Come on Crew.. respond with a furious vengeance today and wax the Reds.

[Fear The Chorizo]

if i was playing baseball I would easily be willing to play 29 days in a row, working at my job now, not so much.

 

If you've ever played 4-5 nine inning games of even semicompetitive baseball in a row in late July, early August, you'd realize how much of a strain it is both physically and mentally. 29 in a row is alot more than 5, too.

 

Baseball is a funny sport to gauge how much energy a player has at any given time. Sure, anyone with a pulse could get sent out to play 29 straight games, but expecting them to perform well (especially at a MLB level) during that stretch is asking too much of 99.5% of major leaguers out there.

 

The games themselves look to be relatively easy to get through - sometimes people don't realize how much work and practice goes on before and after games to prepare for the next game and maintain a player's level of strength and health.

 

--------------------

[Brian the Automator]

[ To me it's more important start getting road wins now and building up momentum on the road. Right now, they have zero momentum. ]

 

I'm of the camp that "momentum" really only matters to fans. You take the same approach to batting from day to day. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[ Rest Fielder when some other guys are picking up the slack. Right now I can't find any ]

 

Braun has an OPS of 1.057 over the past 7 days. Weeks, .831. Jenkins, .897. Heck, Counsell, .804.

[JumpinMacFlash]

I'm changing topic, but sorry for not getting an IGT up earlier. I had some things to do this morning and I didn't feel like staying up until 2 a.m. updating all the graphics after I got home from work. I can have something up for tomorrow if Woogie is still unavailable.

[jason21nl]

Yes the need days off. and baseball does take its toll through the year. and yes, I have played lots of baseball and softball in my life..i just got done with a softball tourny that went from 9am-1230am..I know what toll it takes believe me..

 

these guys work out or should work out every day in the off season to get ready for the dog days of summer..Then during the season they work out to stay in shape. an off day here in there is fine, but please don't tell me that because I'm not a pro I wouldn't want to be in their postion. There are a couple guys on this board that know me, and how much that I really do play.

 

 

and just for the record, I only wanted to see our full line up. Giving Prince a day off is OK, as long as the rest of the guys are playing. Giving half our line up a day off on the same day is never ok

[Brian the Automator]

And no offense to Prince, but he's a big man. It's not unreasonable to think he needs a day off.

 

What does it matter if they rested Braun yesterday and Prince today? Is it any different than if they were rested 2 days apart? 3 days apart? 7 days apart?

[drezdn]

When Prince hits a home run when he pinch hits later today.

[Klements Bratwurst]

Attending my fourth game of the series today and after last nights lineup I felt like sending ned my travel expenses as I didn't travel 400+ miles to see three of our best players sitting so ned could play his gritty veterans.

 

With that said, todays lineup is better, but I really think we needed the "A" lineup.

 

In the right field corner today with the family. I hope to not see Griffey rob 3-4 runs with his glove-again!!!

 

We need this one!!!!!!

[BrewCrewForever]

Braun has an OPS of 1.057 over the past 7 days. Weeks, .831. Jenkins, .897. Heck, Counsell, .804.

 

Not to mention Hall's .900+ OPS before he went on the DL.

[Team Canada]

Braun has an OPS of 1.057 over the past 7 days.

 

 

Braun's OPS for the *season* is 1.058.

 

Also awesome: His OPS vs LHP is 1.739.

 

 

Bonds' OPS: 1.055.

 

 

Braun > Bonds? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[RU Rah Rah]

I understand that Prince can't play 162 games, but it just frustrates me that the team's best overall lineup doesn't seem to get run out there every day. (I know that Ned doesn't have any control over injuries and slumps, etc.)

[Brian the Automator]

[ Braun has an OPS of 1.057 over the past 7 days.

 

 

Braun's OPS for the *season* is 1.058. ]

 

He's slumping!!

[1992casey]

My stance is pretty close to what jason21nl said a page or so ago. I think starters should be rested once every two to three weeks or so. If a player is slumping, he can be rested more often; that way he'd be somewhat fresher later on when he heats up.

 

As far as Prince, I think he should probably have been rested a little more up to this point. Sitting him vs. a lefty occasionally would be the way to do it.

 

I do object to resting a whole bunch of players at once, though. There has to be a better way.

[zzzmanwitz]

I think it is good that we have such a deep bench that we can afford to give our studs regular time off. That means they will be all the more fresh to play for a month or two straight in September and October.

[brewcrew00]

Fact:

 

Soriano has started every Cub game since April 25th when he was held out on a rainy day at Wrigley because he was still nursing a tender hammy.

 

Derek Lee has started every Cub game all year other than his suspension except 3 or 4 in May when he had a slight injury.

 

Aramis Ramirez started every Cub game that he was not on the DL but one on June 27th when he was still a little sore.

 

Really makes you wonder why the Cubs fall off late in every season doesn't it?

[jakesdaddio]

I am not loving that Weeks strikes out to open game. He needs to get right!

[bsglorydays]

Imagine that... Weeks swings at and misses a breaking ball, and Hardy hits a weak grounder to short. I think we've seen that combination about 100 times recently (although not back to back, since Weeks hasn't been leading off lately).

[Roscoe Chill]

It's not that players don't need days off throughout the season, I agree they do...it's bunching all these days off together that irks me. It's like it's day off week in the middle of a road trip where the team is in danger of losing a series to the freaking Reds. I don't get that.

 

Furthermore, and this is just a thought of mine, no fact or anything like that, but I could see Ned Yost defending this sitting players in the same time period by saying something along the lines of: "You don't want to sit your guys when you're winning or playing well."